In an effort to shape public opinion ahead of the Lok Sabha elections by highlighting issues like social justice, unemployment, and price increases, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will set out on his Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra from Manipur, a state plagued by violence, on Sunday. A day prior to the yatra, the Congress declared that it was an ideological, not an electoral, yatra, directed against the 10 years of the Narendra Modi government’s “anyay kaal,” or period of injustice.
The party’s original plan was to flag off the yatra from Imphal, but instead they will do so from a private ground in the Thoubal district. Restricting the number of participants, the state government had granted the Congress conditional approval to start the yatra from the state capital’s Palace Grounds. The Congress chose to use a different location as a result. Additionally, the Thoubal district administration has placed limitations on the event, such as an hour-long limit on duration and a 3,000 participant cap.
The party hopes the yatra will be as “transformative” as Rahul Gandhi’s previous cross-country march, passing through 100 Lok Sabha seats in 15 states. The Congress has declared that it is pulling out of the yatra because the government has denied it an opportunity to bring up public concerns in Parliament. The initiative aims to restore the values of justice, liberty, equality, and fraternity that are ingrained in the Constitution. 6,713 km will be covered by the yatra, primarily by bus but also on foot. It will travel through 110 districts in 67 days, culminating on March 20 or 21 in Mumbai.
Despite the Congress’s repeated insistence that this is not an electoral yatra, the event comes at a pivotal moment as the party looks to turn things around following a dismal performance in the most recent round of assembly elections. The Congress wants to use this yatra to draw attention to issues that affect everyday people, while the BJP is concentrating on the consecration ceremony of the Ram temple on January 22.